Definitely drawn on the "no trade" rumours...The future of LG's home turf depends on Lee Joo-heon, the "No. 2 catcher's official."
Definitely drawn on the "no trade" rumours...The future of LG's home turf depends on Lee Joo-heon, the "No. 2 catcher's official."
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"Our second catcher is Lee Joo-heon."
The LG Twins catcher's team in the professional baseball league is wearing thin. Park Dong-won is solid. He is one of the top 10 catcher's team. However, he lost weight in the backup team. LG did not renew his contract with Heo Do-hwan, who served as the backup catcher until last year. Since then, Heo has announced his retirement. Prior to Heo, there was a veteran named Lee Seong-woo. While maintaining solid lineup of key catcher Yoo Kang-nam (currently Lotte) and Park Dong-won, strong veteran catcher was behind him.
The veteran player who has been a good link between the main player and the backup has disappeared. Now the catcher of "Number 2" is much younger than Park. After Park Dong-won, Lee Joo-heon (22) joined the team in the second and third rounds of the 2022 Rookie Draft, and Yeom Kyung-yeop has been keeping an eye on the catcher since last year. After finishing his compulsory military service last year, he hit 284 (23 hits in 81 at-bats), recorded six home runs, 21 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 39 games in the Futures League. Notably, he joined the team as an expanded entry in September last year, and earned a strong impression on the first team. He made his debut as a starter against Kiwoom in Jamsil on September 26 and had three hits. He also included his entry into the postseason.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop is literally "pushing" the catcher. Yeom said, "Lee Joo-heon is definitely the second catcher this year. However, I feel uneasy about playing Park Dong-won and Lee Joo-heon right now. Kim Bum-suk, who joined the team dubbed "a player who will become the epitome of Korean baseball," is still in the second division and has not grown as much as expected.
A veteran catcher like Heo Do-hwan is needed. For this reason, LG was at the center of rumors of a catcher's trade that heated up online in late February at the end of the Okinawa camp. There was plenty of justification for the catcher's trade.
"If (Park) Dong-won gets injured for a month or two, it will be difficult for him alone," Yeom Kyung-yeop said ahead of an exhibition game against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Stadium on Sunday. "If (Park) Dong-won gets injured for a couple of months, he can bring another catcher in that situation."
What is clear, however, is that Lee Joo-heon is the No. 1 backup catcher of the team even if another catcher comes. "People misunderstand that if another catcher comes, (Lee) will be pushed out," manager Yeom said, adding, "No. Joo-heon will be the second catcher and another catcher will be the third catcher. We are trying to raise Lee Joo-heon. What is clear is that Lee Joo-heon is the second catcher no matter who comes."
However, as long as Park Dong-won does not suffer from long-term injury, there will be no trade." Regarding additional trade discussions among the catcher's staff, he said, "As a manager, we are examining various aspects of the catcher's trade. We need to be prepared. However, we are not in a hurry. The season has not even begun. Our second catcher is Lee Joo-heon."
"There is no trade discussion at the moment. We can't even discuss it," said Cha Myung-seok, LG's general manager, on Wednesday. Last year, LG had to pay the baseball development fund as it exceeded the competition equal tax ceiling of 11.42 billion won (11.42 million U.S. dollars). Considering the direction of the club's development and realistic conditions, LG has firmly established that it is impossible to discuss a trade itself.
It is a clear opportunity for Lee. During the exhibition games, he vowed to guarantee young players time to play 카지노사이트. "Players who want to play as much as Moon Jung-bin, Lee Young-bin, Song Chan-ui, Choi Won-young and Lee Ju-heon are included in the exhibition games. They will be able to play as much as the main players. If they start, they will continue to play until the ninth inning," Yeom said. "There is no chance for Lee to grow further. It is up to him now.